"Starship Humans"

Yuan lay on the ground. As soon as he absorbed the gentle energy contained in the stone, he felt as though every cell in his body had been lost in a desert for more than ten days, only to suddenly discover a source of water.

His cells radiated an intense yearning for energy and instantly snatched up every last bit of the gentle energy. The cells that hadn't gotten any seemed to protest silently, exerting a force that tried to draw energy in.

Only then did Yuan feel a wave of numb soreness throughout almost every inch of his body. The intense discomfort made him frown.

The gentle woman in animal hide watched Yuan's expression closely and reminded him with a smile, "Take it slowly. Don't absorb too much at once. Most importantly, guide the energy in the stone toward the Micro-Planet in your Dantian!"

Yuan did as she said. Although the energy was used up before it could reach the Dantian in his abdomen, deliberately guiding it eased the numb soreness throughout his body considerably.

The man in makeshift armor exchanged a glance with his wife. They could easily tell that Yuan was a complete novice, lacking even the most basic knowledge of cultivation.

But his pupils bore the distinctive silver-white, strange asterisk-shaped symbol of Light Artistic Conception. By rights, he should have been a cultivation genius...

The man in makeshift armor signaled to his wife to take the little girl away. She had been curiously examining the material of Yuan's clothes. Then he took the stone from Yuan's hand.

Yuan was a little surprised to have his recovery interrupted, but he was clever enough to keep his expression neutral and watch the man in makeshift armor, waiting for him to explain.

"You should be able to move, at least a little. Sit up and let's talk."

Yuan did as he was told. He struggled to lift his hand and check his wristwatch, only to find it was offline. Had he already gone far beyond Yisi Kingdom's borders?

Yuan managed to prop himself up, then asked weakly, "Who are you? Where am I?"

"You don't recognize us?" The man in makeshift armor was now the one who looked surprised. He pointed to his own cheek to give Yuan a hint.

Only then did Yuan notice the small patches of pale blue scales covering both sides of the man's cheeks.

Apart from that, he looked no different from an ordinary member of the Isis Race. It had been too dark earlier for Yuan to notice.

"You said 'you Isis people,' so you're not members of the Isis Race? You came from somewhere beyond Dongyuan Planet?" Yuan asked.

"That's right," the man in makeshift armor replied. "My name is Shenghui. My wife, Chaiting, our daughter, and I are members of the Human Race, living nearby."

"'Shenghui,' 'Chaiting,' 'Human Race'? Those are strange names." Yuan searched his memory, but he really didn't know of any so-called "Human Race."

Yuan considered his words before replying, "Sorry, but to me, you look exactly like the Isis Race. I didn't know there was another race on Dongyuan Planet so similar to them."

Shenghui, the man in makeshift armor, waved a hand. "We came to Dongyuan Planet more than two million years ago. As expected, ordinary members of the Isis Race have forgotten we even exist..."

His expression turned cold again. He raised the smooth, blue-green stone, about the size of an egg, and continued, "This Wenshui Stone should be enough to completely heal you, but we won't give it to you for free! Do you understand?"

Yuan glanced at the Action Mecha parked nearby and quickly replied, "What do you want me to do?"

"Give me the authorization code and control of this mecha, and the Wenshui Stone is yours."

Yuan said helplessly, "Sorry, I can give you control of this mecha, but it doesn't belong to me. I don't have the authorization code."

The mecha belonged to the Scavenger Team, who might or might not have been connected to the people after the Purple Crystal. But given the circumstances, Qiaona couldn't very well object to him trading the mecha away...

Shenghui looked a little disappointed, but still said, "Control will do!"

Yuan tried to adjust his position so he could sit more comfortably, then said, "I have one more condition. I want you to help escort me to the nearest city of the Isis Race!"

Yuan didn't know how much time had passed, but his parents must be worried sick. He had to find a way to contact them as soon as possible.

"Sorry, I can't go far from my people, so I can't escort you. But we can help you however we're able."

"Deal!"

Only then did the gentle woman in animal hide, Chaiting, bring the little girl back. "Sorry. My husband has to support our people, which is why he made that offer."

Yuan smiled. "You saved my life, and all I'm giving up is an ordinary Action Mecha. In the end, I'm the one getting the better deal."

Yuan struggled to raise his wristwatch toward Shenghui and scanned him, then handed over control.

Without control or the authorization code, operating the mecha would be extremely difficult. Someone would have to crack its system permissions using technology superior to the mecha's own, and the cost of doing so would be worth more than the machine itself.

Shenghui handed the Wenshui Stone back to Yuan. "Get some rest and recover your cultivation as soon as you can!"

"May I ask where we are? What's the name of the nearest city of the Isis Race?"

Shenghui already had an answer ready. "This used to be the heart of Northern Rock Race territory. There's a Northern Rock Race city nearby called Biweituo, but it was abandoned after the Light-Deriving Snakes wiped out the race. The nearest city of the Isis Race is about seven or eight hundred thousand kilometers away."

"Damn that Purple Crystal!" Yuan cursed inwardly. "Dongyuan Planet's circumference is only 3.3 million kilometers. That's like crossing almost half the planet!"

In truth, it wasn't the Purple Crystal's fault. If they hadn't gone far enough, and the force behind them had a World Rank powerhouse, they could have been spotted easily by a scan with World Power.

And they'd also gotten far away from the cities of the Isis Race, where powerful experts were stationed to protect them. They'd practically walked straight into danger...

At this distance, with Yuan's Earth Rank strength, it would take him a full two Dongyuan years to run there, assuming he didn't run into danger or have to take a detour!

"No wonder even my Smart Wristwatch is offline. Purple Crystal, if you've died, how am I supposed to get home?"

Chaiting had expected Yuan to react this way. "Just focus on recovering for now. We'll take things one step at a time. We'll find a way."

Shenghui had already taken the mecha away, leaving Yuan alone in the cave to struggle to recover his cultivation. He hadn't felt much when the three strangers were with him.

But now, as he stared at the empty cave and listened to the Desolate Beasts calling back and forth outside, he finally realized how far he was from his familiar family and friends, and from the security of his old life!

He was in an unfamiliar place, with terrifying dangers that could descend at any moment and take his life with ease!

Yuan felt an intense emptiness he couldn't control, along with confusion and fear!

After all, the old Yuan had been nothing more than an ordinary, handsome young man of the Isis Race. His greatest dream had been to break through to Flying Star Rank and live for 6,000 years, get a minor clerical job in the Tribal Council, save enough money to marry two women from the Isis Race...

If his two wives fought, he'd soothe the older one today and the younger one tomorrow, taking turns...

He'd spend the rest of his time urging the children to cultivate. No, forget that—whether they cultivated was up to them. They'd reach Apprentice Rank Nine either way. He'd save up enough resources for the kids to break through to Earth Rank, then kick them out so they could live independently.

He'd stay home and placate his wives, soothing the older one today and the younger one tomorrow...

"Ah..." A faint sigh echoed through the empty cave...

There was still not a trace of light at the cave's entrance. Since Shenghui, his wife, and their people lived nearby, the area was probably still relatively safe for now.

Yuan temporarily set aside his unease, gripped the Wenshui Stone, and did his best to guide its energy toward the Dantian in his abdomen.

Because Yuan was deliberately guiding it, his cells didn't all rush to snatch the energy like before. But the energy still ran out before reaching its destination, again and again.

He resisted the urge to absorb Universe Energy from his surroundings. If his body was too depleted, he could only carefully guide the gentle energy first. The Universe Energy on Dongyuan Planet was both dense and violent. If it poured directly into a body that was severely depleted, it could destroy the Earth Rank Micro-Planet and ruin his cultivation. That would be the least of his worries—in severe cases, his body could even explode!

He'd only learned all this because Shenghui, that wild "Human," had told him.

Yuan had been dumbfounded. He'd always lived in a safe city, where unless he deliberately got into trouble and committed a crime, there was no way he'd ever use up all the energy in his body...

After the gentle energy ran out again and again, Yuan's efforts finally brought it closer and closer to his Dantian. Then—

Boom!

Yuan's consciousness followed the energy and finally arrived in the vast Dantian.

One Micro-Planet, two Micro-Planets, three Micro-Planets? Huh? Yuan, in his state of consciousness, was a little confused. Since when was he Earth Rank Three?

He hadn't even properly studied the cultivation method for forming a second Micro-Planet, yet somehow he'd inexplicably reached Earth Rank Three!

There were three Micro-Planets in his Dantian. The one in the center was the one he'd gained when he first reached Earth Rank One. The other two had formed when he reached Earth Rank Two and Earth Rank Three.

The central Micro-Planet was the largest, while the other two orbited it, like Earth orbiting the sun. But all three Micro-Planets were dim, as though they could go dark at any moment.

As the gentle energy entered the Dantian and was absorbed by the Micro-Planets, they gradually grew brighter. Once they had recovered to a certain level of brightness...

Yuan finally dared to absorb energy from the outside world according to the instructions in the <Gene Origin Energy Cultivation Method—Cultivation Guide>.

Guided by the power of the three Micro-Planets, the chaotic Universe Energy obediently followed the prescribed route into the Dantian.

The Micro-Planets absorbed it and converted it into their own Genetic Origin Energy, which was then absorbed by cells throughout his body.

His Rank Three Genetic Origin Energy began another round of strengthening his body. Yuan felt the exhilarating surge of power as his strength increased. "No wonder so many people get hooked on cultivation. This feeling of my strength skyrocketing is incredible!"

Yuan guided the new Genetic Origin Energy toward his Consciousness Sea. It was just as vast. Before him were two Micro-Planets of Spiritual Force, one large and one small. He was a second-rank Earth Rank Spirit Reader!

Once the Micro-Planets in his Consciousness Sea had been relit, second-rank Spiritual Force flowed throughout his body. But it did very little to strengthen him now.

Yuan's consciousness arrived before the Purple Crystal. He tried to guide Genetic Origin Energy, Spiritual Force, and the gentle energy from the Wenshui Stone into the equally dim purple crystal, but it didn't react at all.

Yuan felt a little helpless. What was he supposed to do without the Purple Crystal?

After his earlier experience absorbing the Wenshui Stone's energy, Yuan could feel the Genetic Origin Energy in his body itching to do something to the light around him.

But without a cultivation method for it, Yuan still resisted the urge. Perhaps he could ask Shenghui and the others tomorrow...

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